ZAMBIA – In an effort to make the staple food more affordable for the citizens, the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has called on its members to consider blending maize mealie meal with cassava, as it will also enhance the nutrition value of the product.
MAZ president Andrew Chintala said adding value to produce like maize or natural resources like copper contributes to the reduction of imported finished products and job creation for the local people.
Mr Chintala said in an interview on Tuesday that such a move will supplement Government’s efforts of promoting value addition.
“As a company, we are trying to see how we can blend maize meal with cassava or cassava with millet and other products to make them affordable because maize on its own is becoming expensive for both the locals and in the region.
“We feel that to produce cheap products, we should come up with innovative ideas with a little more investment into certain machinery that can be compatible with the existing ones so as to enable us introduce more affordable and nutritious food products on the market,” Mr Chintala said.
He said the company recently introduced two new products on the market, which includes biscuit and bread flour.
Mr Chintala is encouraged that the manufacturing sector is growing as businesses are now able to sell their products at both the local and regional markets.
“In terms of the manufacturing of biscuits [this kind of business] is just growing now and we feel that there is business opportunity for us in the Democratic Republic of Congo where we are currently looking at and also in South Africa,” he said.
January 23, 2017; https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=92581
